GREEN CARD comes across as having a premise that would have worked superbly in a situation comedy . One where a protagonist needs a green card in order to stay in the country but problems arise when the authorities check out their story . You can just imagine Edmund Blackadder or Alun Partridge frantically trying to come up with a story when the immigration people start asking about their new found spouse . There's a very good reason why sit com episodes last 30 minutes while a feature film lasts at least three times that and why plots and premises are often interchangeable
There is some mileage behind the concept as French immigrant Georges tries to BS himself past his interrogators only to have one of them ask to use the toilet but being a romantic comedy there has to be a certain level of romance which dilutes the comedy . This doesn't make GREEN CARD a terrible film but does make it fairly predictable . It's also interesting to note the lack of impact French mega stars make in Hollywood movies . Watch Belmondo , Delon , Reno or Cassell in a French movie and they're truly charismatic . Watch them in an American movie and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about and it's the same with Gerard Depardieu in this film .
There is some mileage behind the concept as French immigrant Georges tries to BS himself past his interrogators only to have one of them ask to use the toilet but being a romantic comedy there has to be a certain level of romance which dilutes the comedy . This doesn't make GREEN CARD a terrible film but does make it fairly predictable . It's also interesting to note the lack of impact French mega stars make in Hollywood movies . Watch Belmondo , Delon , Reno or Cassell in a French movie and they're truly charismatic . Watch them in an American movie and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about and it's the same with Gerard Depardieu in this film .